Suturing techniques and instruments facilitate the suturing of tissue during endoscopic and open surgical procedures. The term “endoscopic” encompasses arthroscopy, laparoscopy, hysteroscopy, etc., and endoscopic surgery involves surgical procedures that are performed on a patient's through small openings as opposed to conventional open surgery through large incisions. The access to a surgical site in an endoscopic procedure relies on one or more portals created in the patient's body or through one or more cannulas inserted into the patient's body through small incisions. The use of sutures in endoscopic procedures relies on remote retrieval of the suture when it is passed through, tied to, and/or anchored in tissue of the surgical site.
Various instruments and techniques exist and are used for surgical repairs requiring the passing of sutures back through tissue. For example, a suture snare is used with suture passers to retrieve the suture within the joint space during endoscopic surgery. Due to the limited space within the joint, deployment of the snare is often challenging. There remains a need for a minimally invasive surgical instrument that can retrieve or pass a suture or similar surgical item, where the device can allow for steerability as well ease of manipulation to grasp or release a suture used in a surgical procedure.